1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices and apparatus for providing access to areas undergoing a surgical/dental procedure, and more particularly, to tissue retractors incorporating magnets.
2. Description of Related Art
There are myriad surgical/dental procedures that require access to hard to reach areas of a patient. One part of the body that has proved particularly challenging in terms of access to target areas undergoing such procedures is the buccal surfaces of the gums and/or teeth in a patient's oral cavity. Increases in both the efficiency and efficacy of these procedures are obtained by providing the dentist or surgeon unfettered access to the area being treated. In addition, surgical procedures on other areas of the body frequently require retraction of tissues not involved in the procedure, or securing tissues in place during the procedure, to expose the area.
The most common approach to providing sufficient space for a dental or surgical procedure is simply to manipulate the tissues not involved and retract them out of the way. For example, a dentist or oral surgeon may engage the edges of a patient's mouth using a manual retractor device that fits over the patient's lips and pulls them back as far as they will stretch. Typical such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,971,557, 5,115,799, 5,730,597, 6,080,105, and 6,102,701. Such a retractor device may include a contoured surface that fits over the patient's lips and a handle portion for the surgeon, or more commonly, an assistant, to pull manually to retract the patient's lips from the target area. Alternatively, the dentist may use a dental mirror to provide retraction of the buccal tissue while performing the procedure with the contralateral hand. In this manner, the patient's mouth is forcibly expanded and the dentist/surgeon is afforded access to the target area.
This is an imperfect approach because it requires either that the dental practitioner hold the retractor with one hand while performing the procedure with the other, or that an assistant be employed to hold the retractor. The presence of an assistant increases the cost of the procedure to the patient. And even if an assistant is required for other aspects of the procedure, a manual retractor perforce still occupies one of the assistant's hands, thus limiting his or her ability to perform other tasks during the procedure. And using a dental mirror can limit the dentist's visual field because the mirror is first placed as a retractor, and only secondarily as a visual tool.
While these retraction techniques may be acceptable in some circumstances, access to the target area is still limited because the patient's lips can only be distended so far. Moreover, retracting just the lips has a limited effect on moving the buccal surfaces of the cheeks away from the teeth and gums, particularly when the target area is deeper within the patient's oral cavity, such as proximate to the molars. Yet another drawback to using retractors that pull on the patient's lips is that the retractor itself tends to interfere with the procedure because it occupies part of the opening through which the surgeon/dentist accesses the target area. It is also known to use various forms of gauze packing between a patient's buccal surfaces and teeth to provide a degree of access. However, this can severely limit the amount of working space immediately adjacent the target area.
Retraction of tissues in non-dental surgical procedures typically relies on manipulating the uninvolved tissues and moving them out of the way, or packing the tissues and/or organs off (that is, away from the target area) with laparotomy pads, surgical towels, or other similar compliant implements that conform to the shape of the tissues/organs being held in place. Unlike retraction in dental procedures, a surgeon can often enlarge an incision to provide greater access to the target area. But even then, additional manipulation of internal tissues and/or organs is often required to maintain adequate exposure of the target area after access is achieved. For example, in open abdominal surgery, an incision of adequate size can usually be made to provide access, but intra-abdominal tissues and organs (such as the spleen, intestines, etc.) may need to be manipulated to expose the surgical site. This is often accomplished using devices such as Balfour retractors or Bookwalter retractors to hold the wound edges open. These devices incorporate retractor blades of various shapes, and are often used in combination with laparotomy sponges, surgical towels, or other soft, malleable instruments. These devices can decrease the amount of space immediate to the surgical wound, and thus decrease the space for the surgeon to work, but they are necessary to secure the retractor implements and maintain the tissues/organs in a retracted position. In some cases, a sufficient number of laparotomy sponges may be used to maintain the desired position of the tissues without requiring a blade retractor. But the position of the tissues will often change if held in place only by laparotomy sponges, and adjustments will have to be made during the surgery. Moreover, the use of multiple laparotomy sponges is inherently dangerous, since it increases the risk that one or more sponges will remain in the patient after the surgery is completed.
Accordingly, there has been a long-felt need for an improved manner of exposing areas that are targeted for surgical/dental procedures to facilitate the procedures and increase their efficiency and efficacy.